First steps in future partnerships with tech sector giants such as Microsoft

Barcelona, 01/03/2018. - SEAT successfully concludes its fourth participation at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). The Spanish brand took advantage of the world’s largest technological showcase to present its solid commitment to digital transformation in every area of the automotive sector. With this move, during the four-day congress the brand’s dedicated space was a landmark location for car digitisation and the development of future mobility.

Prominent visitors among the vast numbers who came to the SEAT stand at the Congress include Spanish Minister of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda Álvaro Nadal; Director General of Israel’s Ministry of Economy and Industry Shai Rinsky; l’Hospitalet del Llobregat mayor Núria Marín; Director General of Fira de Barcelona Constantí Serrallonga; Mobile World Capital Director Carlos Grau or Kim Faura, Telefónica Director General, among others.

SEAT President Luca de Meo underlined that “four years ago, when we were among the first carmakers to participate at the MWC, we understood the strong momentum that this congress would give us.” In addition, the company President wanted to highlight that “SEAT is also a tech company and we will continue to rely on this congress to present what we have achieved until now, but especially in order to learn from other industry leaders and connect with companies that can help us fully develop the future mobility scenarios that cities are being faced with.”

During the event, the company staged some of its latest innovations related to future mobility. In this sense, visitors to the stand could admire the successful SEAT Leon Cristobal concept car, the ‘guardian angel’ for drivers equipped with more than 15 safety assistants, or take part in the SEAT Connected Experience 2.0, an impressive personalised simulator that provides users with an interactive experience in what driving in the future is going to be like.

Together with the stand’s daily activity, SEAT also took advantage of the MWC stage to announce important developments that will shape the future of the brand. One prominent development is a strategic partnership with Shazam, the popular music entertainment service, which allows the brand to continue making progress in its goal of providing its customers with the highest levels of safety. Furthermore, at a press conference the brand also announced the creation of a new company, XMOBA, which is going to identify, test and invest in initiatives that succeed in promoting solutions that improve the future of mobility. In addition, the carmaker also announced its intention to participate in one of the most significant projects facing Barcelona – turning the city into a 5G technological hub. The goal of SEAT’s participation in the project is to work in collaboration with the Catalan Government, the Barcelona Council and Mobile World Capital among others, who are the promoters of the initiative, in order to develop 5G technology in a connected car prototype that will be tested next year in the city.

First step towards future strategic partnerships

SEAT’s venue at the congress also saw several strategic meetings between company executives and some of the major players in the tech scene. With these meetings, which took place in a speed dating format, SEAT aims to lay the foundations of new agreements that will enable the company to continue spearheading digitisation in the automotive sector and make further progress in connectivity and artificial intelligence projects. Several key meetings were held with leading companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Waze; outstanding local players such as Caravelo and Inbenta; and companies identified by SEAT’s XPLORA team in Israel such as Neura and Anagog.

4YFN, meeting point for the most innovative talent

In parallel with the MWC, SEAT took part yet another year in 4 Years From Now, the global meeting point for entrepreneurs and tech startups, where the brand presented several initiatives, including an Open Innovation Challenge for startups to devise solutions to processes in the framework of Industry 4.0 and the SEAT DisrUP programme which, together with Pangea, aims to attract young talent. Furthermore, the company also had a space for the purpose of recruiting highly qualified tech professionals in order to tap the most innovative talent that will help the brand respond to the challenges of tomorrow.

SEAT is the only company that designs, develops, manufactures and markets cars in Spain. A member of the Volkswagen Group, the multinational has its headquarters in Martorell (Barcelona), exporting 80% of its vehicles, and is present in over 80 countries through a network of 1,700 dealerships. In 2017, SEAT achieved worldwide sales of nearly 470,000 vehicles.

The SEAT Group employs close to 14,700 professionals at its three production centres – Barcelona, El Prat de Llobregat and Martorell, where it manufactures the highly successful Ibiza, Leon and Arona. Additionally, the company produces the Ateca and the Toledo in the Czech Republic, the Alhambra in Portugal and the Mii in Slovakia.

The multinational has a Technical Centre, which operates as a knowledge hub that brings together 1,000 engineers who are focussed on developing innovation for Spain’s largest industrial investor in R&D. SEAT already features the latest connectivity technology in its vehicle range and is currently engaged in the company’s global digitalisation process to promote the mobility of the future.